Set Profile > Fountain Court Chambers > London, England
Fountain Court Chambers Offices
Fountain Court Chambers
FOUNTAIN COURT, TEMPLE
LONDON
EC4Y 9DH
England
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Fountain Court Chambers > The Legal 500 Rankings
London Bar > Administrative and public law (including elections)
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
London Bar > Aviation Tier 1
Considered an 'excellent set' with 'a number of great juniors and silks' Fountain Court Chambers is highly regarded for its continued expertise in commercial aviation disputes, catastrophic claims, and regulation matters. Michael McLaren QC acted for Olympic Council of Asia, the organising body for Asian nations in relation to the Olympic Games, in a $14.4m claim regarding an aircraft leasing and purchase agreement for an executive jet. Akhil Shah QC, Bankim Thanki QC and Rosalind Phelps QC frequently advise the Civil Aviation Authority at silk level on major regulation matters, and are regulatory instructed as sole counsel by clients involving high-value disputes. In 2020, John Taylor QC acted for Ryanair, defending a claim for $40m by an aircraft lessor. Giles Robertson is noted for being instructed on major Covid-19 related disputes.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Fountain Court is surely the leading set in aviation at the English bar. It has a wealth of experience and talent at the top end, and excellent juniors who start in aviation from the very beginning of their tenancies.’
‘Fountain Court is my first choice set for aviation matters. They have a number of great juniors and silks. You know that you are going to get someone who can do a great job.‘
‘Fountain Court is one of the go-to set of Chambers for aviation related matters. We can trust them to provide counsel who are reliable, dependable, efficient, responsive and client friendly. In particular we enjoy how they have trained their juniors to produce speaking notes for major conference calls and meetings, which are very helpful.‘
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit) Tier 1
Fountain Court Chambers is 'one of the leading sets for banking related disputes' with 'genuine quality and strength in depth across the board'. With some exceptions, the majority of the set's members typically act on the bank side, and several, such as Richard Lissack QC have strong overlaps into the criminal and fraud side. Several members have been involved in The Ingenious Litigation concerning banks' duties with regards to concerning tax avoidance schemes, with Richard Coleman QC representing Coutts and Richard Handyside QC and James Duffy advising UBS. Another major mandate taking up much of Andrew Mitchell QC's time is Loreley 30 v Credit Suisse in which he and Adam Sher are acting for five Credit Suisse entity defendants.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
2021 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘One of the very top tier sets. Consistently excellent.’
‘The set has an abundance of talent and depth. Its expansion programme with lateral hires has been a real success. ‘
‘Top banking set for LIBOR and derivatives.’
‘Fountain have fantastic barristers across all levels. You feel safe in their hands.’
‘Fountain court has a great bench. Very good at the top end but with some really remarkable juniors.’
Clerking
‘Efficient and responsive.’
‘The clerk room is practical, helpful and responsive – one of the best in the top rate sets.’
‘I think the clerks are great, responsive and professional. Alex Taylor is a strong head clerk and very commercial. ‘
‘Sian Huckett is fantastic. Open, honest and pragmatic.’
‘I have dealt with Jake Hubbard primarily, and find that he is always incredibly professional, prompt and personable to deal with.’
London Bar > Commercial litigation Tier 1
Fountain Court Chambers is 'exceptional in every regard' and praised for its stable of 'technically excellent and very approachable' silks and juniors. Away from its client-facing work, the set is also commended for its 'active network and events to promote gender equality in the profession'. The set's workload includes some of the largest cases to hit the market. Notable highlights include VTB Capital plc v Republic of Mozambique, regarding defaulted sovereign debts to Mozambique, in which David Railton QC , Timothy Howe QC, and rising star, Ian Bergson, are among those representing VTB Capital. Bankim Thanki QC and Simon Atrill also represented Ukrainian government in the Supreme Court in Times Travel v Pakistan International Airlines, in which the court examined issues of economic duress, a doctrine relevant to the its dispute with Law Debenture Trust over an alleged bond default.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
2021 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Fountain Court are obviously very strong across financial services, markets and high-value commercial matters. Their overall service is slick and user-friendly.’
‘Fountain Court offers a breadth of counsel to cover most commercial disputes, across a range of values. We are always offered a suitable option when a chosen barrister is unavailable, and unlike with some other sets the clerks seem to pay genuine attention to the nature of the case and client before pushing any alternative forwards.’
‘Fountain Court is a great chambers and has real strength in depth at all levels. They are clearly one of the top three or four sets in the country for commercial litigation work.’
‘Nobody ever got fired instructing counsel from Fountain Court.’
‘It is an excellent set. I have never worked with anyone at Fountain Court or appeared against anyone at Fountain Court who was not a barrister at the very top of their game.’
Clerking
‘Clerks are very helpful. Katie Szewczyk stands out particularly for being efficient yet friendly.’
‘Top class, one of the best if not the best clerks rooms.’
‘The clerking team are second to none. They are efficient, proactive and excellent at communicating.’
‘The service and clerking is top-notch. Responsive, pragmatic, and supportive. Katie Szewczyk is excellent.’
‘Sian Huckett is excellent at understanding what is required and understanding client requirements and willing to consider flexibility in fee arrangements.’
London Bar > Financial services regulation Tier 1
Fountain Court Chambers' market-leading status in this area extends beyond its strengths in banking and finance, mixing in expertise in related areas such as professional negligence and civil and criminal fraud. The depth of experience covers every level, both for contentious and non-contentious financial regulatory advice. Recent instructions for the team include Andrew Mitchell QC advising RBS on pre-litigation matters linked to its replacement of LIBOR as a reference rate for bank lending with SONIA. In another matter, Bankim Thanki QC is advising KPMG in relation to a formal complaint by FRC in relation to its auditing of Bank of New York Mellon, where Raymond Cox QC and Rupert Allen were representing the FRC in the sanctions hearing.
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Fountain Court is an outstanding set.’
‘Fountain Court is one of the pre-eminent sets for complex finance disputes.’
‘Fountain Court have considerable strength-in-depth in this area with a host of high quality practitioners.’
‘It is a well-known market leader.’
Clerking
‘The clerking team at Fountain Court are fantastic for identifying an appropriate barrister for whatever particular matter you have.’
London Bar > Fraud: civil Tier 1
Fountain Court Chambers is 'undoubtedly one of the premier league sets at the Bar for this type of work', and is particularly well noted for financial services and banking-related fraud claims, as well as an increasing crossover into criminal law. Jeffrey Chapman QC is becoming an increasingly prominent figure in this area, as reflected in his advice to Wirecard, in Manek v Wirecard, where he has been leading up-and-coming junior Samuel Ritchie in the successful strikeout of fraud allegations against senior Wirecard executives concerning the acquisition of the Indian payments business Hermes. Stephen Rubin QC is another top tier silk with a fantastic reputation, and has been leading Alexander Milner in Motorola Corporation v Hytera Corporation, in which they are advising Hytera in a freezing order that raises important issues as to without prejudice correspondence and Chabra relief.
Rising stars
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
2021 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Strong set. Still comfortably premier league.’
‘Fountain Court is my “go to” set of chambers. I always know that I will get a very able, legally astute and commercially minded barrister. They very rarely have no one available to deal with any time sensitive cases.’
‘They are absolutely top tier for complex fraud disputes.’
‘Fountain Court Chambers has a number of very strong counsel in the civil fraud area.’
‘Strength in depth, particularly at QC level. Excellent clerking team.’
Clerking
‘I have always found the clerks to be very helpful and well connected within the Courts.’
‘Excellent. The clerks are always willing to go that extra mile to help with any issue or case that we have. Reiss Nott and Richard Evans stand out.’
‘The clerks are responsive and helpful, Alfie Harper and Chloe Gibbs in particular.’
‘Alex Taylor and Sian Huckett offer a first class clerking service.’
‘I have always found the clerks to be incredibly helfpul and responsive, in particular, Reiss Nott who I have worked with many times. Even if he is not responsible for the particular counsel I am working with, he always ensures that there is appropriate levels of support. My experience with all clerks at Fountain Court has been excellent and it makes my job significantly easier. ‘
London Bar > Construction
Rising stars
Leading Silks
London Bar > Energy
Leading Silks
London Bar > IT and telecoms
Telecoms (Regulatory) - 2020 Silks
IT and telecoms (excluding regulatory) - Leading Juniors
London Bar > Insurance and reinsurance Tier 2
A ‘leading set for insurance and reinsurance work‘, Fountain Court Chambers consistently acts on behalf of both insurers and policyholders in high-profile and precedent-setting disputes. A large number of members were instructed in the FCA’s recent High Court test case (FCA v Arch & others) on business interruption insurance, and whether it responds to claims arising from the coronavirus pandemic. Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC, and rising star Max Evans acted for the FCA in the High Court; and Ben Lynch QC, who took silk during the 2020 round, was instructed, as lead counsel for the Hiscox Action Group, in both the High Court and leapfrog Supreme Court proceedings – the team also included Christopher Knowles .Rising stars
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Fountain court is a leading set for insurance and reinsurance work, with a number of practitioners who practice at the highest level.‘
‘Fountain Court Chambers provides an excellent service at all levels.‘
‘There are some very strong insurance barristers in the set.‘
‘A very good set – one of my two go-to sets and there are lots of very good juniors.‘
‘A very high-quality set with great barristers.‘
Clerking
‘The clerking team provides an outstanding service to clients, and with a perceptive understanding of the insurance and reinsurance market.‘
‘The clerks are generally fantastic and a pleasure to work with.‘
‘Excellent clerking all round – the best around in my experience.‘
‘Joint deputy senior clerk Sian Huckett is excellent.‘
‘Team leader’s assistant Chloe Gibbs goes the extra mile with her service delivery.‘
London Bar > International arbitration: arbitrators
Sir Andrew Smith - Fountain Court Chambers ‘ Andrew brings to the role of international arbitrator the best standards of the London Commercial Bar and bench. ’London Bar > Insolvency
Leading Silks
London Bar > Professional disciplinary and regulatory law Tier 2
'Elite set' Fountain Court Chambers's practice has 'an abundance of talent and depth', and the team fields extensive expertise on matters involving white-collar regulators. Distinguished silk Michael McLaren QC 'produces remarkable results in unpromising circumstances', and is often instructed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in high-profile disciplinary cases. In another matter, Edward Levey QC represented the SRA in the prosecution of a former solicitor, who was charged with alleged dishonesty regarding false representations about her billable hours. At the junior end of chambers, Rupert Allen represented the SRA in long-running proceedings against law firm Sophie Khan & Co, regarding the enforcement of a document production notice issued under section 44B of the Solicitors' Act 1974 - the firm was shut down by the regulator in August 2021.
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘It has a strong pool of talent.’
‘Fountain Court Chambers has a rich array of talent in the field of professional discipline/regulatory work.’
‘Uniformly excellent counsel.’
‘The set has an abundance of talent and depth.’
Clerking
‘Its clerking arrangements are friendly and efficient.’
‘Excellent service from the clerks – they are practical, responsive and helpful. Sian Huckett is a pleasure to work with.’
‘Incredibly responsive and always available for any query, no matter how small.’
London Bar > Professional negligence Tier 2
Fountain Court Chambers is 'a very strong set', and houses a 'fantastic' team noted for its expertise in handling financial-related professional negligence claims brought against asset managers, accountants, auditors and insurance brokers, among other professionals. Richard Coleman QC, Niamh Cleary and James Duffy continue to act on either side of the high-profile Ingenious litigation, regarding allegedly negligent financial advice on investing in a film finance scheme. Claims against solicitors and barristers are another area of instruction for the group; for example, Anneliese Day QC and Christopher Knowles are acting for over a hundred investors in a claim against a tax QC for alleged negligent tax advice.
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘Fountain Court Chambers contains a strong stable of barristers‘.
‘Fountain Court is an excellent chambers with lots of very talented barristers‘.
Clerking
‘The Fountain Court clerks are always helpful and eager to accommodate‘.
‘Excellent clerking, particularly from Sian Huckett‘.
‘Katie Szewczyk is a star‘.
London Bar > Travel law (including jurisdictional issues) Tier 2
Acting for regulators, airlines and tour operators, Fountain Court Chambers has been particularly active on commercial disputes involving Covid-19’s disruption to the travel market. Rosalind Phelps QC has been assisting Norwegian Airlines and National Express on disputes of this nature, whereas Akhil Shah QC has experienced a similar workload as well as advising Thomas Cook on its liquidation.
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Testimonials
Set
‘Fountain Court are very well known in the aviation industry.’
‘Real strength in depth.’
‘I’ve used Fountain Chambers for a number of instructions and have always found the counsel to be of the highest quality.’
Clerking
‘We deal with Sian Huckett who is a pleasure to deal with. Very responsive.’
‘The clerking team provides an outstanding service to its clients. it has a developed understanding of the operation of the travel industry, which serves its clients’ interests well.’
‘The clerking team provides a first class service to its clients. No problem is too difficult to resolve.’
‘One of best sets of clerks I’ve come across. Very responsive and clear on fees and billing. Sian Huckkett in particular stood out.’
London Bar > Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations) Tier 3
Five years after its launch, Fountain Court Chambers’ commercial crime practice continues to grow, most recently with the addition of Robin Lööf from Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s white-collar and regulatory defence team in June 2021. The set has a wealth of experience in high-profile investigations into commercial fraud allegations; in this space, Richard Lissack QC is singled out for having recently led a team representing Serco Geografix, which entered into a deferred prosecution agreement after the electronic tagging subsidiary of the outsourcing firm defrauded the Ministry of Justice.
Leading Silks
2020 Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘An excellent set for all types of disputes and investigations, including corporate crime investigations.’
‘An excellent, top set.’
‘Very good depth of knowledge and experience and availability of counsel. Open to training and development programmes and keen to know and learn about the solicitors they are working with.’
‘Fountain Court is superbly strong for criminal issues arising in financial services and banking disputes.’
Clerking
‘Strong, reliable clerking function.’
‘Clerks are very commercial and accommodating.’
‘Very good. Responsive and approachable.’
London Bar > Company and partnership
Company - Leading Silks
London Bar > International arbitration: counsel Tier 3
Fountain Court Chambers is an 'excellent all-round' set for commercial disputes, a quality that extends to its international arbitration offering. Clients appreciate the 'useful Singapore presence', although its members also are active in arbitrations spanning the US, Middle East, Russia, the CIS, and Africa. Among the silks, Anneliese Day QC is building an excellent reputation both as an advocate and arbitrator, and is currently representing NIDCO in NIDCO v OAS, a dispute involving a contract for Trinidad's southern road network. The highly versatile Bankim Thanki QC is also active in this area and is representing Ukraine in Littop Enterprises and others v Ukraine. Other key members include Timothy Howe QC and Alexander Milner, who is noted for his Russia and CIS related expertise.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘I have had very good experiences with Fountain Court to date. The barristers are excellent, and the clerks helpful.’
‘High class chambers with many excellent counsel at all levels.’
‘My preferred London set for international arbitration.’
‘Excellent counsel and excellent clerks.’
‘We have instructed this chambers for many years, and find them to be excellent, having members of chambers covering very every skill set across the full range of commercial dispute resolution matters.’
Clerking
‘The clerks always respond promptly and try to stay flexible in terms of resolving technical issues.’
‘Alex Taylor is simply London’s best Head Clerk, no arguments. Sian Huckett is a pleasure to deal with and knows her members and their abilities very well.’
‘The service of the clerks at Fountain Court is excellent. Luke Diebelius and Alfie Harper are experienced clerks who are able to strike a good balance between keeping their members and instructing solicitors/their clients happy, and always with a smile on their faces.’
‘Luke Diebelius is easy to work with and works hard to coordinate multiple diaries, often with conflicting appointments.’
‘The clerks are responsive and professional.’
London Bar > Proceeds of crime (POCA) and asset forfeiture
Leading Silks
London Bar > Employment
Leading Silks
London Bar > Competition
Leading Silks
London Bar > Offshore Tier 3
Members of Fountain Court Chambers bring strong practices in commercial, fraud, banking and financial services, as well as company and insolvency law, to clients needing representation in a range of offshore jurisdictions. Head of Chambers Bankim Thanki QC has been acting for Ukrainian oligarchs Sergii Lagur and Stepan Ivakhiv in an $800m fraud dispute in the BVI, and Ben Valentin QC represents the AwalCo Respondents in the AHAB v Saad litigation. Nico Leslie is the set's standout junior in this area, acting for defendant law firm in the $400m Cayman Islands professional liability case, Arnage Holdings v Walkers. Michael Green QC (as was) was appointed to the Chancery Division of the High Court bench in October 2020.
Leading Silks
Leading Juniors
Testimonials
Set
‘An exceptionally strong set. They never overtrade and always deliver a quality work product.‘
‘Excellent overall – dependable, willing to assist and extremely bright.‘
‘Fountain has a deep and varied bench, incredibly bright and genuinely interesting people and not just barristers.‘
‘Strong depth in company expertise.‘
Clerking
‘Alex Taylor is the most knowledgeable, reliable and trustworthy clerk in London. His client service is second to none, he always delivers and never overpromises. He is a credit to Fountain Court.‘
‘Dynamic, helpful, responsive clerking that has a truly international gaze and who work very hard to keep the stable busy and evinces a healthy and progressive attitude to the career trajectory of the full range of talent.‘
‘Good service overall. Sam Ismail is helpful and responds to requests in a timely manner.‘
‘Excellent and responsive.‘
London Bar > Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police)
Leading Silks
London Bar > Product liability Tier 4
The members of Fountain Court Chambers' expertise ranges from pharmaceutical and consumer product group actions to acting for clients in claims relating to industrial, marine or aviation products. Akhil Shah QC is a particularly experienced key contact in the latter field. Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC is regularly instructed by the UK Government.
Leading Silks
Testimonials
Clerking
‘Approachable and helpful.’
Fountain Court Chambers > Set Profile
Fountain Court Chambers is a leading commercial set of chambers with 95 barristers, including 41 silks. Its core work is commercial, with members advising and representing clients in business disputes of all kinds, domestic and international, and at all levels.
The set: Members of Fountain Court Chambers appear in courts and tribunals of all levels, from complex, high-value commercial disputes in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, to county court and tribunal work. Members have experience of sitting as arbitrators, mediators and dealing with other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Members regularly work abroad, not only in international arbitrations but also as advocates in overseas jurisdictions including Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, New York, the British Virgin and Cayman Islands, Northern Ireland and in the European Court of Justice.
The size of chambers, and the range of experience of its members, enables Fountain Court to assemble balanced teams of counsel to suit the requirements of individual cases.
Prominent former members include Lord Bingham and many other current and former Lords Justice of Appeal and High Court judges along with a Lord Justice of the UK Supreme Court. Door tenant Michael Brindle QC is president of the Abu Dhabi Global Market appeals panel, while Michael Crane QC is chairman of the Takeover Panel. Other key roles held by members include Stephen Moriarty QC’s position as Chair of the Commercial Bar Association and Andrew Mitchell QC’s position as Vice-Chair of the Bar Standards Board.
Chambers is regularly instructed by major and boutique international and domestic law firms, the general counsel of FTSE 100 companies, regulatory bodies and local authorities.
Types of work undertaken: Members are recognised leaders in the fields of Administrative & Public Law; Aviation & Travel; Banking & Finance; Civil Fraud; Commercial Crime; Commercial Dispute Resolution; Financial Services; Insurance & Reinsurance; International Arbitration; Offshore; Professional Discipline; Professional Negligence; and Regulatory & Investigations. They are also notable for the wide range of other civil work undertaken, including Company, Restructuring & Insolvency; Construction & Energy; Competition; Employment; Media, Entertainment & Sport; Product Liability; Technology and Tax. Many Fountain Court members are regularly appointed as arbitrators in complex, high-value international arbitrations, or as mediators.
Aviation & Travel: Fountain Court members have significant expertise in the aviation and travel sectors, including in relation to aviation commercial disputes; claims involving disasters, catastrophic / extensive loss and damage; disputes linked to economic downturns; aviation insurance and reinsurance; aviation and travel regulation; and issues of public law.
Banking & Finance: Fountain Court is at the forefront of banking and financial disputes, including retail and investment banking. It is a core specialism of the set which has a reputation for large-scale, test-case litigation involving some of the world’s most prestigious financial institutions.
Commercial Dispute Resolution: All members at Fountain Court advise on commercial disputes including litigation, arbitration, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. Specific areas of specialism include complex contractual disputes, fraud and negligence claims plus niche areas such as privilege and conflicts of law.
Commercial Crime: Uniquely within the Bar’s ‘Magic Circle’, Fountain Court is a leader in corporate and individual commercial crime. It specialises in the crossover between criminal, civil and regulatory liabilities and remedies/sanctions that are now such an important feature of business.
Company, Restructuring & Insolvency: Many members have long-standing experience of advising on company law issues, restructuring and insolvency both in the context of commercial litigation and issues of a more specialist nature. Fountain Court members have advised in connection with many of the high-profile collapses of recent years including Flybe, Thomas Cook, Monarch Airlines, Northern Rock, Lehman Brothers, Farepak and British Steel.
Insurance & Reinsurance: This is a core specialist area for Fountain Court, both in litigation and arbitration. Members’ experience includes cases relating to coverage and disputes surrounding liability, across all lines of business. Members are often involved in some of the most cutting edge and precedent setting insurance matters, including the FCA test case regarding business interruption claims arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
International Arbitration: Members have a wide range of experience acting in arbitrations, in litigation concerning arbitrations, and as arbitrators. The high values involved in the arbitral practices of our leading barristers have seen them act on claims valued in the billions.
Offshore: Members regularly undertake cases both for or against foreign corporations and high-net-worth individuals who have also instructed litigation practices to represent them in defending their onshore and offshore interests.
Professional Discipline: Members regularly act both for and against regulators in relation to claims against, and investigations into, professionals and have been involved in some of the most significant and high-profile matters in recent times, across a variety of professions.
Professional Negligence: Representing professionals in relation to negligence claims is a long-standing area of specialism for members of Fountain Court, with barristers acting on cases involving the legal, accountancy, construction, insurance and other sectors.
International
Fountain Court is a set with an excellent reputation for its international work. Covering many diverse practice areas including Aviation & Travel; Banking & Finance; Company, Restructuring & Insolvency; Commercial Dispute Resolution; Construction & Energy; Offshore and Technology, the set provides experienced advisors, counsel and arbitrators through all levels of call.
International Appointments: Michael Brindle QC is the President of the recently created Abu Dhabi Global Market appeals panel. Patricia Robertson QC has also been appointed as a member of that panel as well as, since 2019, being a member of the Advisory Panel on legal regulatory matters for the Astana International Financial Centre.
Members are called to the Bar in a wide variety of jurisdictions including Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Russia.
Offshore: Members have predominantly acted offshore for institutional and corporate clients, but also in cases involving representation of ultra-high net worth individuals, for example acting in cases involving significant Russian investors. In recent years, members of chambers have received instructions in relation to substantial offshore cases from some of the largest mainstream US and UK litigation firms, as well as from (or working in conjunction with) many offshore firms.
International Arbitration: Members regularly act in arbitrations with an international dimension. As well as acting in London arbitrations, many members have experience of acting in arbitrations conducted in foreign jurisdictions; similarly, members have experience of acting in arbitrations where the subject matter of the dispute is governed by a foreign law.
Given the growth in the number of international commercial disputes being referred to the Singapore International Arbitration Centre and the creation of the Singapore International Commercial Court in 2013, the set has had a physical presence in Singapore since September 2014.
Outside of Singapore, individual members have seen multi-jurisdictional cases involving a variety of jurisdictions including India, Switzerland, the UAE, Russia, Turkey and Israel, in disputes involving a wide range of sectors, including property, aviation, construction, shipping, financial services, international supply contracts, telecommunications and insurance. Work in the DIFC Courts and arbitral institutions has seen a particular increase, with members appearing in the DIAC.
International Arbitrators: Many members of Chambers have accepted appointments as arbitrators, and many of them are highly experienced arbitrators with strong reputations in the market.
Notable cases include:
- The Law Debenture Trust Corporation plc v Ukraine: Acting for the Ukraine in the $3 billion Eurobond claim brought by Law Debenture on behalf of the Russian Federation and heard in the Supreme Court in December 2019. This was the longest Supreme Court hearing of any non-public law case during 2019, which illustrated its importance and the breadth of issues involved.
- Robert Tchenguiz v Grant Thornton UK LLP & Ors: Members of Fountain Court acted both for and against the businessman, Robert Tchenguiz, in relation to his claim of in the region of £200 million for unlawful means conspiracy and malicious prosecution relating to his arrest by the Serious Fraud Office in 2011.
- RBS Rights Issue Litigation: Acting in this group action, worth over £4 billion, brought by investors against RBS and its former directors arising out of the bank’s part nationalisation.
- Terra Services Limited v NCA and Secretary of State for Home Department: Acting for the claimant challenging a search warrant linked to the USA Mueller Investigation into Russian interference in the US 2016 Presidential Election. The case involved landmark MLA proceedings including covert searches and public interest immunity; letters of request and confidentiality; powers and duties of the UKCA; confidentiality rings, closed material procedures and special advocates; data protection; legal professional privilege; Investigatory Powers Tribunal proceedings; and privacy.
- Sports Direct International plc v Financial Reporting Council: Acting for both sides in the high-profile dispute concerning the law of privilege in connection with a statutory investigation into Sport Direct’s former auditors Grant Thornton.
- ENRC v SFO, Dechert and others: Acting for a major extractive industries entity in a wide range of very high-profile litigation, including in a landmark decision in law on privilege which caused international repercussions for the legal profession.
- The Dame Linda Dobbs Review: Acting as specialist financial crime and financial services counsel to the review into whether the issues relating to HBOS Reading were investigated and appropriately reported to authorities at the time by Lloyds Banking Group.
- Barclays Bank Qatar capital raising: Acting in Barclays’ success in multiple proceedings arising out of the $11 billion investment by Qatar in the bank in 2008, including investigations run by the FCA and other regulatory bodies in the UK, and the SEC and Federal Reserve in New York, and criminal proceedings.
- Skatteforvaltningen v Solo Capital Partners & Ors: Defending a £1.5 billion claim by the Kingdom of Denmark, acting via its national tax authority, arising from an alleged cum-ex (withholding tax reclaim) tax fraud, said to have taken place between 2012 and 2015.
- Times Travel v Pakistan International Airlines: Acting for Ukraine in the Supreme Court appeal regarding the existence of awful act economic duress and likely involving the redefining of the boundaries of economic duress and unconscionable bargains, and the legal right to avoid contracts induced by illegitimate pressure.
- Public Institute for Social Security of Kuwait v Man Group Plc and Others: Acting for various parties in major international proceedings concerning allegations of large-scale bribery.
- VTB Capital v Republic of Mozambique: Acting in a series of claims for recovery of monies against Mozambiquan borrowers, guaranteed by the Mozambique State, with related claims for damages for conspiracy.
- Ingenious Film Finance Litigation: Acting for various financial institutions in the large scale, high-profile and multi-party dispute arising out investments made in Ingenious Film Partnership schemes.
- Tatneft v Bogolyubov & Others: Acting in a $300 million fraud claim in the Commercial Court between a Russian oil company and four Ukrainian oligarchs.
- HP / Autonomy Litigation: Acting for various parties in the longest running, very high-profile trial of 2019, in claims relating to breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and misrepresentation in relation to the acquisition of Autonomy by the Hewlett-Packard group.
- Marme Inversiones v Royal Bank of Scotland & Others: Acting for various parties in a €1 billion claim by a corporate borrower against RBS and a syndicate of banks, relating to alleged fraudulent EURIBOR manipulation by RBS on interest rate swaps. The case is now a leading authority on various aspects of law, including as regards implied representations and the doctrine of agency in the context of syndicated lending.
- Group Seven Ltd v Notable Services LLP: Acting in a seven-year dispute including two 30+ day trials, a private prosecution and two judgments of the Court of Appeal ends with an overseas bank found vicariously liable for the dishonest assistance of its employee and establishing a new test for dishonest assistance post Ivey.
- FCA v Arch & Others (the ‘FCA Business Interruption Test Case’): Acting in the high-profile proceedings, including at both the High Court and ‘leapfrog’ Supreme Court hearings, concerning whether certain business interruption insurance policies respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the most significant insurance dispute in recent decades, affecting around 370,000 policyholders. Nine Fountain Court members were involved, acting for various parties including the FCA, the Hiscox Action Group and QBE.
- Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Limited: Acting for Chubb in the high-profile Supreme Court case on apparent bias and obligations of disclosure and confidentiality in international arbitration.
- B2C2 v Quoine (Singapore International Court of Appeal): Acting for the claimant in a ground-breaking cryptocurrency / algorithmic trading case which dealt with questions of knowledge in automatic algorithmic trading of cryptocurrency.
- Various Parties v Uber: Acting for the claimants in a challenge made under the GDPR in the Amsterdam District Courts to algorithmic decision-making by Uber.
- International work, in addition to overseas matters above, includes: Arnage Holdings & Others v Walkers (A Firm): Defending one of the leading legal firms in the Cayman Islands in a long-running $400 million negligence suit brought by one of the richest families in Brazil. The case involves multiple international elements arising out of what has been described as Brazil’s “trial of the century” and includes extensive allegations of political corruption against a major Brazilian bank and its former owners. This is one of the largest and most long-running and high-profile negligence actions ever brought in the Cayman Islands.
- Cowan v Equis Special LP & Ors: Very high-value (over $440 million) fraud action involving a range of leading silks in the offshore world. The jurisdiction decision is now one of the leading Cayman authorities on permission to serve out and the meaning and effect of material non-disclosure at ex parteThe claim involved parallel proceedings in Cayman and Hong Kong.
- Shrimpton v Scriven, Dragon Capital & Ors: High-value unfair prejudice petition between the founders of Vietnam’s leading private equity fund, based in Hong Kong. This was a heavyweight and highly complex shareholder dispute fought between some of the leading offshore QCs, raising numerous novel points of law and involving a truly international background.
- Nanfong International Investments Ltd: Successfully acting (both in Cayman and Samoa) to oppose a winding up petition presented against one company in a conglomerate. Successfully appealed to the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal who made an order staying the Cayman winding up petition so that proceedings in Samoa could be concluded. Subsequent five day trial in Samoa. This was one of the first such cases to be heard by the Samoan Supreme Court and it has helped to develop the jurisprudence and capability of Samoa to establish it as an offshore financial centre.
- Gao v China Biologic Products Holdings:Successfully acting for the defendant in high profile proceedings in the Cayman Islands Grand Court. The defendant is a company listed on NASDAQ and is involved in the research, development and manufacture of human plasma-based biopharmaceutical products in China. The plaintiff is the former CEO and he sued the company on the basis that a very recent share issue was conducted for improper purposes so as to thwart his consortium’s takeover offer. This was highly significant company law case, not just for the Cayman Islands but for England too.
- Turks & Caicos Financial Services Commission v Caicos General Insurance Company Ltd:Acting for the Turks & Caicos Financial Services Commission in relation to a dispute concerning licence conditions imposed on insurance companies conducting insurance business in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
- Ieremeieva v Estera, Lagur and Ivakhiv: Acting for two Ukrainian oligarchs (Mr Lagur and Mr Ivakhiv) in a dispute in the BVI concerning the operation of a trust and the ownership of various Ukrainian businesses, the value of which is said to exceed $800 million. The allegations include ones of forgery, sham and dishonest assistance in breach of trust and fiduciary duty.
- Barthelemy Holdings v Duet Group Limited: Claim by BH for breach of warranties under an Investment Agreement concerning the purchase and building of a hotel in St Barts, in the Caribbean. The trial lasted five – six weeks and judgment was given by Waksman J, upholding parts of the claim.
- AHAB v Saad & Ors: This is the largest fraud case ever to be tried in Cayman Islands, and the six-week appeal was heard by the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal in May-June 2019; judgment was reserved.
- Goodman v DRS Governance: A $120 million claim in the Cayman Islands relating to the collapse of the Axiom Legal Financing Fund.
- Sonera v Cukorova: Acting in this litigation which involves the enforcement of a US$1 billion ICC award. The case has generated a considerable number of rulings in the British Virgin Islands, including several appeals to both the BVI Court of Appeal and Privy Council in London; the case is a good example of the substantial arbitration-related disputes in which Members are regularly involved.
- The CLICO Inquiry: Instructed in the inquiry in Trinidad and Tobago, concerning the circumstances in which major banking and insurance companies based in Trinidad and Tobago sustained losses totalling billions of dollars.
Main Contacts
| Department | Name | Telephone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior clerk | Alex Taylor | ||
| Head of Administration | Julie Parker | ||
| Member of Chambers | LISSACK QC, Richard (1978) (QC 1994) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RAILTON QC, David (1979) (QC 1996) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DUTTON CBE QC, Timothy (1979) (QC 1998) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MORIARTY QC, Stephen (1986) (QC 1999) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RUBIN QC, Stephen (1977) (QC 2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | McLAREN QC, The Hon Michael (1981) (QC 2002) | ||
| Member of Chambers | COX QC, Raymond (1982) (QC 2002) | ||
| Member of Chambers | THANKI QC, Bankim (1988) (QC 2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BÉAR QC, Charles (1986) (QC 2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ROBERTSON QC, Patricia (1988) (QC 2006) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HOWE QC, Timothy (1987) (QC 2008) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SIMPSON QC, Mark (1992) (QC 2008) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HANDYSIDE QC, Richard (1993) (QC 2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MULCAHY QC, Leigh-Ann (1993) (QC 2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CHAPMAN QC, Jeffrey (1989) (QC 2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DALE QC, Derrick (1990) (QC 2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SHAH QC, Akhil (1990) (QC 2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MITCHELL QC, Andrew (1992) (QC 2011) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GOTT QC, Paul (1991) (QC 2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | COLEMAN QC, Richard (1994) (QC 2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RITCHIE QC, Stuart (1995) (QC 2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DAY QC, Anneliese (1996) (QC 2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TAYLOR QC, John (1993) (QC 2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TOLLEY QC, Adam (1994) (QC 2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GOODALL QC, Patrick (1998) (QC 2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | GEARING QC, Matthew (QC 2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | VALENTIN QC, Ben (1995) (QC 2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PHELPS QC, Rosalind (1998) (QC 2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KING QC, Henry (1998) (QC 2017) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ZELLICK QC, Adam (2000) (QC 2017) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LUCAS QC, Bridget (1989) (QC 2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SINCLAIR QC, Paul (1997) (QC 2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CUTRESS QC, James (2000) (QC 2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MEDCROFT QC, Nicholas (1998) (QC 2019) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WHEELER QC, Giles (1998) (QC 2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LEVEY QC, Edward (1999) (QC 2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BARCLAY QC, Robin (1999) (QC 2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LYNCH QC, Ben (2001) (QC 2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CARPENTER QC, Chloe (2001) (QC 2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | OPPENHEIMER QC, Tamara (2002) (QC 2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | JOHN QC, Laura (2001) (QC 2021) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MERRETT, Louise (1995) | ||
| Member of Chambers | NAMBISAN, Deepak (1998) | ||
| Member of Chambers | YEO, Nik (2000) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CASEY, Paul (2002) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PULLEN, Andrew (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DAVISON, Eleanor (2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BUTLER, Marianne (2003) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MURRAY, David (2004) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ATRILL, Simon (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DUFFY, James (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ALLEN, Rupert (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BARDEN, Alex (2005) | ||
| Member of Chambers | MILNER, Alexander (2006) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SHER, Adam (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | POWER, Richard (2007) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ULYATT, Craig (2008) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LÖÖF, Robin (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BENNETT, Natasha (2009) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LESLIE, Nico (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | EDMONDS, Daniel (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HOROWITZ, Dr Deborah (2010) | ||
| Member of Chambers | NESTERCHUK, Tetyana (2011) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LOVERIDGE, Rebecca (2011) | ||
| Member of Chambers | LANGLEY, Christopher (2011) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KNOWLES, Christopher (2011) | ||
| Member of Chambers | AHLQUIST, Philip (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CLEARY, Niamh (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | ROBERTSON, Giles (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RITCHIE, Samuel (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SAGAN, Leonora (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HART, James (2012) | ||
| Member of Chambers | FARMER, Joseph (2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | PAUL, Simon (2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BROCK, Laurie (2013) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DALY, Nick (2014) | ||
| Member of Chambers | EVANS, Max (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KASRIEL, Max (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BERGSON, Ian (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | CARALL-GREEN, Daniel (2015) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RABINOWITZ, Samuel (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | WHELAN, Alexandra (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | DAMNJANOVIC, Nicolas (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TURNER, Jacob (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BRUNEAU, Damien (2016) | ||
| Member of Chambers | TAYLOR, Aaron (2017) | ||
| Member of Chambers | de BRUYN, Laurentia (2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | HUGHES, Gillian (2018) | ||
| Member of Chambers | FIELD, Marcus (2019) | ||
| Member of Chambers | KOH, Nathalie (2019) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SHERMAN, Orestis (2019 | ||
| Member of Chambers | LEECH, Joseph (2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | RUDDY, Francesca (2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | SCHWENNICKE, Daniel (2020) | ||
| Member of Chambers | BERNSTEIN, Hannah (2020) | ||
| Door Tenant | WILSON, Lord Nicholas (1967) | ||
| Door Tenant | POTTER QC, Sir Mark (1963) | ||
| Door Tenant | LANGLEY QC, Sir Gordon (1966) | ||
| Door Tenant | JACOBS QC, Sir Francis (1964) | ||
| Door Tenant | BOSWOOD QC, Anthony (1970) (QC 1986) | ||
| Door Tenant | SMITH, Sir Andrew | ||
| Door Tenant | BRINDLE QC, Michael (1975) (QC 1992) | ||
| Door Tenant | CRANE QC, Michael (1975) (QC 1994) | ||
| Door Tenant | DDOCTOR QC, Brian (1991) (QC 1999) | ||
| Door Tenant | BROOK SMITH QC, Philip (1982) (QC 2002) | ||
| Door Tenant | HAMILTON, Philippa (1984) | ||
| Door Tennant | WATT, Katherine (2002) | ||
| Door Tenant | SAID, Sebastian (2014) | ||
| Door Tenant | WATTS QC, Professor Peter (New Zealand) | ||
| Door Tenant | BOO, Professor Lawrence | ||
| Door Tenant | SCHWARTZ, Eric A | ||
| Door Tenant | WINGFIELD, David R (2013) | ||
| Door Tenant | RADICATI DI BROZOLO, Professor Luca G (2014) | ||
| Door Tenant | HUGHES, Professor Benjamin | ||
| Door Tenant | DHARMANANDA SC, Kanga | ||
| Door Tenant | PACHNANDA SA, Gaurav | ||
| Door Tenant | ARTERO, Christine | ||
| Door Tenant | BENJAMIN SC, Ian | ||
| Door Tenant | CHAN, Professor Darius | ||
| Door Tenant | ANDHYARUJINA SA, Zal |
Barrister Profiles
| Photo | Name | Position | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
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Philip Ahlquist | Philip Ahlquist specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, with particular expertise in… | View Profile |
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Rupert Allen | Rupert is regularly instructed in heavy and high-profile commercial and banking cases,… | View Profile |
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Simon Atrill | Civil and commercial litigation including banking, financial services, insurance/reinsurance, civil fraud, pharmaceuticals… | View Profile |
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Robin Barclay | Robin practises in commercial, regulatory and criminal law with a particular focus… | View Profile |
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Alex Barden | Alex is widely recognised as a leading junior in commercial matters, especially… | View Profile |
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Charles Bear | Wide-ranging practice covering: general commercial litigation, judicial review, and public procurement. Commercial… | View Profile |
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Natasha Bennett | Natasha Bennett specialises in general commercial litigation, including banking and financial services,… | View Profile |
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Ian Bergson | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration, civil fraud, banking and financial… | View Profile |
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Anthony Boswood | Anthony Boswood QC practised at the Commercial Bar in London as a… | View Profile |
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Michael Brindle | Michael sits as an arbitrator in major arbitration disputes. His truly international… | View Profile |
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Laurie Brock | Laurie has a broad commercial chancery practice, with a focus on banking… | View Profile |
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Philip Brook Smith | Wide-ranging practice covers a broad spread of commercial and common law work… | View Profile |
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Damien Bruneau | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, including banking, financial services, civil fraud, aviation,… | View Profile |
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Marianne Butler | Marianne is an experienced commercial barrister, who has a core specialism in… | View Profile |
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Daniel Carall-Green | Daniel has wide experience in commercial, regulatory, and public law. His practice… | View Profile |
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Chloe Carpenter | Specialises in commercial litigation, banking, financial services, professional negligence, administrative and public… | View Profile |
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Paul Casey | Barrister specialising in commercial and civil law. | View Profile |
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Jeffrey Chapman | Commercial litigation including civil fraud, banking, international arbitration, insurance and reinsurance and… | View Profile |
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Niamh Cleary | Niamh has a broad commercial practice, with a particular emphasis on banking… | View Profile |
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Richard Coleman | Richard Coleman QC’s practice spans commercial dispute resolution, banking, financial services, administrative… | View Profile |
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Raymond Cox | Barrister specialising in general commercial law, banking and finance, civil fraud, regulation,… | View Profile |
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Michael Crane | Michael Crane QC has over twenty years’ experience as an international arbitrator.… | View Profile |
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James Cutress | Specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, with particular expertise in banking and… | View Profile |
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Derrick Dale | Barrister of 31 years call (silk for 11 years) with a broad… | View Profile |
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Nick Daly | Practice Areas Nick specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration and is regularly… | View Profile |
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Nicolas Damnjanovic | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, including aviation, banking, civil fraud, public law… | View Profile |
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Eleanor Davison | Eleanor Davison is a leading junior in regulatory law, financial services and… | View Profile |
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Anneliese Day | Anneliese is a “leading lawyer of her generation” and a “standout genius”… | View Profile |
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Brian Doctor | Referred to as “one of the leading commercial silks at the Bar”… | View Profile |
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James Duffy | Commercial litigation and arbitration practice, including: banking and finance; aviation; civil fraud;… | View Profile |
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Timothy Dutton CBE | A leading silk at the London Bar, specialising in commercial litigation, public,… | View Profile |
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Daniel Edmonds | Daniel practises in all aspects of English private commercial law, with particular… | View Profile |
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Max Evans | Barrister dealing with commercial litigation, banking and financial services, aviation, regulatory and… | View Profile |
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Joseph Farmer | Joseph has a diverse and thriving practice. His commercial work includes cases… | View Profile |
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Marcus Field | Broad commercial practice with experience of banking/finance, civil fraud, insurance and professional… | View Profile |
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Mr Matthew Gearing QC | Matthew is a highly experienced international disputes lawyer, with particular expertise in… | View Profile |
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Patrick Goodall | Barrister specialising in general commercial litigation, including banking and financial services, insurance/reinsurance,… | View Profile |
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Paul Gott | Employment law, professional regulation and commercial law. Industrial relations law – especially… | View Profile |
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Richard Handyside | A wide range of commercial and other civil litigation, including banking and… | View Profile |
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James Hart | Barrister dealing with commercial litigation; banking and financial services; insurance and reinsurance;… | View Profile |
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Dr Deborah Horowitz | Deborah Horowitz specialises in commercial litigation, banking and finance cases, regulatory investigations,… | View Profile |
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Timothy Howe | Specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration (domestic and international) with particular expertise… | View Profile |
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Gillian Hughes | Commercial dispute resolution, banking & finance, civil fraud, insurance and reinsurance, international… | View Profile |
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Laura John | Barrister with a general commercial practice, including banking and financial services, commercial… | View Profile |
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Max Kasriel | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, international arbitration, banking and finance, civil fraud,… | View Profile |
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Henry King | General commercial litigation and arbitration practice, with a particular emphasis on banking… | View Profile |
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Christopher Knowles | Christopher is a barrister specialising in insurance and reinsurance, commercial litigation, professional… | View Profile |
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Nathalie Koh | Barrister specialising in commercial and public law | View Profile |
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Robin Lööf | Business and regulatory crime; Crime; Fraud: crime; Financial services regulation; Proceeds of… | View Profile |
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Christopher Langley | Pursues a broad commercial and civil practice (including aviation, banking and financial… | View Profile |
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Nico Leslie | Banking and finance; Commercial litigation; Fraud – civil; professional negligence; offshore; arbitration.… | View Profile |
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Edward Levey | Barrister specialising in commercial and civil litigation and arbitration, including banking, civil… | View Profile |
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Richard Lissack | Richard is a recognised and renowned leading QC practising in the UK,… | View Profile |
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Rebecca Loveridge | Rebecca specialises in commercial litigation and financial services regulation. Her practice spans… | View Profile |
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Bridget Lucas | A broad practice spanning commercial and chancery litigation and arbitration with a… | View Profile |
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Ben Lynch | Commercial Dispute Resolution, Insurance, Professional Negligence, Competition, International Commercial Arbitration and Telecommunications.… | View Profile |
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The Hon Michael McLaren | Michael McLaren QC is a widely experienced silk with expertise in all… | View Profile |
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Nicholas Medcroft | Nicholas Medcroft QC’s practice spans commercial dispute resolution, banking, fraud, corporate crime,… | View Profile |
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Louise Merrett | Reader in International Commercial law and barrister specialising in international commercial litigation… | View Profile |
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Alexander Milner | Barrister practising commercial litigation and international arbitration, with wide experience of civil… | View Profile |
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Andrew Mitchell | Specific expertise in banking; civil fraud; commercial contract; (re)insurance and professional negligence,… | View Profile |
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Stephen Moriarty | Stephen Moriarty has a very broad commercial litigation and advisory practice, with… | View Profile |
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Leigh-Ann Mulcahy | QC, commercial/international arbitrator and mediator specialising in: Insurance and reinsurance, including business… | View Profile |
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David Murray | Commercial litigation including banking, financial services, aviation, insurance/reinsurance, sale of goods, conflict… | View Profile |
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Deepak Nambisan | Barrister with a substantial commercial practice, including all areas of commercial litigation,… | View Profile |
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Tetyana Nesterchuk | Barrister specialising in international commercial litigation and arbitration (with particular emphasis on… | View Profile |
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Tamara Oppenheimer | Barrister practising in civil and commercial law, including banking, professional negligence, aviation,… | View Profile |
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Simon Paul | Barrister specialising in general commercial litigation and arbitration, including aviation, banking and… | View Profile |
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Rosalind Phelps | Commercial silk specialising in civil and commercial litigation and arbitration including aviation,… | View Profile |
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Richard Power | Barrister dealing with commercial and civil law. | View Profile |
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Andrew Pullen | Barrister specialising in international arbitration, based in Singapore. Andrew Pullen’s practice is… | View Profile |
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Samuel Rabinowitz | Barrister practising in commercial law, including in banking & finance, financial services,… | View Profile |
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David Railton | David has a broad based commercial practice, having acted for and advised… | View Profile |
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Stuart Ritchie | Barrister (Queen’s Counsel) specialising in commercial litigation, civil fraud, employment (directors and… | View Profile |
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Samuel Ritchie | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, with particular expertise in civil fraud, commercial… | View Profile |
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Patricia Robertson | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation and related regulatory work: especially, banking/financial services… | View Profile |
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Giles Robertson | Barrister dealing with commercial litigation, aviation, civil fraud, banking and finance, international… | View Profile |
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Stephen Rubin | Barrister specialising in heavy commercial litigation in this jurisdiction and overseas. Lead… | View Profile |
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Francesca Ruddy | Francesca’s practice is focussed on general commercial litigation and arbitration (including civil… | View Profile |
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Leonora Sagan | Commercial litigation; fraud-civil; business and regulatory crime; financial services regulation; arbitration. Leonora… | View Profile |
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Akhil Shah | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation with an emphasis in aviation, trade finance,… | View Profile |
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Adam Sher | Civil and commercial litigation including banking, financial services, insurance, civil fraud and… | View Profile |
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Orestis Sherman | Broad commercial practice, with experience (as a pupil) in aviation, banking and… | View Profile |
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Mark Simpson | Barrister specialising in professional negligence, professional discipline and general commercial litigation. Notable… | View Profile |
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Paul Sinclair | Paul specialises in complex Commercial and Chancery disputes in particular in cases… | View Profile |
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Sir Andrew Smith | Sir Andrew Smith was appointed as an arbitrator while as a barrister… | View Profile |
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John Taylor | John Taylor QC has a broad commercial litigation and arbitration practice, including… | View Profile |
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Aaron Taylor | Barrister with a broad commercial practice, including Art Law, Aviation, Banking &… | View Profile |
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Bankim Thanki | Bankim Thanki QC is generally recognised as one of the pre-eminent Leading… | View Profile |
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Adam Tolley | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, banking, employment, insurance, professional negligence and personal… | View Profile |
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Jacob Turner | Barrister specialising in general commercial litigation and arbitration, including banking and finance,… | View Profile |
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Craig Ulyatt | Craig Ulyatt has a broad commercial practice. While he has a particular… | View Profile |
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Ben Valentin | Ben is a commercial disputes specialist, with acknowledged expertise in disputes involving… | View Profile |
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Katherine Watt | Barrister specialising in commercial and civil law, particularly banking/finance, professional negligence, professional… | View Profile |
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Giles Wheeler | Giles has a broad commercial practice with a particular emphasis on banking,… | View Profile |
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Alexandra Whelan | Barrister specialising in commercial litigation, including aviation, banking, civil fraud, public law… | View Profile |
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Nik Yeo | Commercial litigation and arbitration, with an emphasis on cross-border disputes and matters… | View Profile |
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Adam Zellick | Established Leader for significant cases with a strong, broad-based, commercial practice and… | View Profile |
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Laurentia de Bruyn | Laurentia has a broad commercial practice in line with Chambers’ profile, with… | View Profile |
Staff Figures
Queen's Counsel : 41 Junior Barristers : 54 Door Tenants : 24Languages
French German Russian Italian Swedish Afrikaans Hebrew Spanish Greek Croatian Serbian Ukranian Turkish MandarinOther
Singapore Office: : 10 Collyer Quay, Ocean Financial Centre #40-38, Singapore 049315Client Testimonials
CLIENT: UK Law firm
COMPANY/FIRM: A brand-focused boutique litigation firm working across intellectual property and sports matters
TESTIMONIAL: Fountain Court’s clerks are great. They offer our litigation team as much support as is possible. For example, we have regular relationship meetings to ensure that we are happy with every aspect of their service, they offer secondees and their events and seminars are topical and helpful. We also find that their advice on costs invaluable. Fountain Court is one of our Chambers of choice.
CLIENT: International Law firm
TESTIMONIAL: I have instructed members of Fountain Court since 1979. It is not for sentimental reasons that I have kept going back to them, year in and year out. They simply do not let their standards slip.
CLIENT: International law firm
TESTIMONIAL: From my experience of instructing members this year, I can say the following. They “get it” that modern commercial litigation is a team game, with clients, solicitors, experts and barristers all playing their part. They are good team players, easy to deal with, no airs and graces. They understand the time pressures that are generated by heavy commercial cases. They turn things around quickly. Their paperwork is exceptionally good – the typical Fountain Court product is a model of concision and precision, but always accessible – easily readable even for the non-cognoscenti. And their advocacy is outstanding.
CLIENT: International Law firm
TESTIMONIAL: The clerking has always been of the highest calibre. Alex and Paul are a pleasure to deal with. You can talk business with them. They understand the cost pressures on clients and solicitors – and they also go out of their way to deal with unexpected demands thrown up (inevitably) by big cases. The junior clerks win plaudits too from my team.
CLIENT: Offshore Law firm
TESTIMONIAL: I have always found Fountain Court to be very strong on the commercials and on the people skills so they are my ‘go to’ set for cases with difficult people dynamics. Their fees are in keeping with what one would expect and, more to the point, worth every penny.
CLIENT: Global Law firm
TESTIMONIAL: I have had a relationship with Fountain Court that stretches back over 30 years. Our area of practise is mainly but not exclusively Banking Litigation and contentious Regulatory. Their expertise on the Banking litigation side is unrivalled at the bar.
Pro Bono
PRO BONO
We have a longstanding and proud commitment to pro bono work.
Advocate
Former member of Fountain Court Lord Goldsmith QC established the Bar Pro Bono Unit (now, Advocate), which enables access to justice through providing barristers’ services on a pro bono basis.
We continue to support Advocate’s work in various financial and non-financial means. Fountain Court is a Gold Patron of Advocate and many of our barristers also provide financial support to the charity on an individual basis. Fountain Court is also an enthusiastic participant in the London Legal Walk, a fundraising event arranged by Advocate on behalf of free legal advice agencies in London.
Our barristers also provide legal advice and assistance on a pro bono basis through Advocate. More senior members support its work as case reviewers, and Philip Brook Smith QC is a trustee of Advocate and a member of its management committee.
Other pro bono work
First year tenants provide free legal advice in the Bethnal Green Advice Centre on a weekly basis, as part of Fountain Court’s ongoing commitment to the centre.
Chambers also participates in Pro Bono Connect, a scheme that maintains a network of chambers and firms of solicitors willing to work together on pro bono cases. Through this scheme, Fountain Court barristers have been instructed by law firms on a pro bono basis to provide a joined-up approach to the provision of pro bono legal services.
Our barristers also participate in a number of the pro bono schemes operated within the RCJ, including:
- The Queen’s Bench Division Interim Applications Court Pro Bono Advocacy Scheme.
- The Chancery Litigants in Person Scheme.
The Commercial Court and London Circuit Commercial Court Pro Bono Scheme.
Countries of expertise include:
| Albania | Denmark | Kazakhstan | South Africa |
| Argentina | Dubai | Kenya | Spain |
| Australia | Egypt | Liechtenstein | St Kitts & Nevis |
| Azerbaijan | France | Luxembourg | Sweden |
| Bahamas | Germany | Malaysia | Switzerland |
| Bermuda | Gibraltar | Maldives | Tajikistan |
| British Virgin Islands | Guernsey | Mauritius | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Canada | Hong Kong | New Zealand | Turks & Caicos |
| Cayman Islands | India | Nigeria | Uganda |
| Chile | Isle of Man | Norway | Ukraine |
| Columbia | Italy | Russia | USA |
| Cyprus | Jersey | Singapore |
Diversity
Equality and Diversity
Fountain Court is committed to Equality and Diversity in all aspects of our business.
We strive to recruit and retain talented individuals from all walks of life and frequently review our policies in order to adopt best practice and to reduce the risk of unconscious bias. We regard it as essential to our standing as a leading commercial set of chambers that we should seek to excel in this regard, as in the rest of our business.
We believe in and promote equal and fair treatment for all. We recognise that the obligation not to discriminate against clients, members, pupils or staff on grounds of gender, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sexual orientation, age, disability, marriage and civil partnership or religion or belief is a fundamental obligation and not simply because it is imposed on us by legislation and the Bar Code of Conduct. We seek to go further and to identify and seek to address structural issues which might lead to individuals from any of these groups being underrepresented within Fountain Court Chambers or at the commercial Bar as a whole.
Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups: A scheme run by Commercial Barristers’ Chambers
We are proud to have joined with five other commercial sets to create a mentoring scheme to support and encourage individuals from all underrepresented groups to pursue a career as a barrister.
Bridging the Bar: Mini-Pupillage Programme
We are also seeking to enhance diversity at the commercial bar by supporting and participating in Bridging the Bar, an initiative through which candidates from underrepresented groups are able to apply for mini-pupillages in chambers.
Combar Scholarship Scheme
Chambers also participates in the Combar Scholarship scheme which seeks to promote social mobility and encourage a wider range of candidates to consider a career at the commercial bar.
Fountain Court also regularly partners with universities in equality and diversity initiatives aimed at students: for example sponsoring and participating in the 2020 ‘Diversity at the Bar’ panel discussion held by Bristol University Bar Society and sponsoring events with King’s Women in Law (of King’s College, London).
Equal Opportunities in Recruitment
We are committed to achieving equality of opportunity in all aspects of our recruitment.
We use published and objective selection criteria in recruiting staff, pupils and tenants and we ensure that all those involved in recruitment have recent equality and diversity training.
We assess applications for mini-pupillage, pupillage and tenancy on merit, but particularly encourage applications from individuals within groups currently underrepresented at the commercial Bar. We actively seek to identify and eliminate unconscious bias through the use of specialist training and techniques such as blind reviews of application forms and assessed work.
Equal Opportunities in Work Allocation
We take seriously our obligation to ensure fairness in allocation of work opportunities as between practising barristers and we are continually seeking to improve and enhance our monitoring and analysis of work opportunities for barristers in chambers.
Gender Equality
We are committed to increasing the representation of women at Fountain Court and at the commercial Bar generally. To this end, we are working with the other leading commercial sets on a recruitment initiative aimed at encouraging women to apply for pupillage at the commercial Bar. The initiative has already seen two successful events at universities with speaker panels including female members of Fountain Court. Further events are planned in the near future.
In January 2020, Fountain Court sponsored a reception held at Middle Temple to celebrate the centenary of women being able to enter the legal profession for the first time. We are also actively partnering with university societies to help promote the commercial Bar as a potential career option for women, including sponsoring and participating in the ‘Diversity at the Bar’ panel discussion to be held by Bristol University Bar Society and sponsoring events with King’s Women in Law (of King’s College, London).
We also recognise the importance of retaining female members and have sought to implement policies to ensure that Fountain Court supports female members as they progress through their careers. We are proud that two of our silk appointments for 2020 were women, and our single QC appointment in 2021 was also female. We are also delighted that our successes in this respect were recognised in The Legal 500 2021, where Fountain Court was described as being “commended for having ‘done a huge amount in recent years to promote and recruit women, making them one of the most gender-diverse sets at the commercial bar’.”
LGBTQ+ Equality
Fountain Court welcomes LGBTQ+ applicants and is proud to have a number of LGBT+ members.
Race Equality
Fountain Court is committed to ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment for all applicants, regardless of race or ethnicity. We are proud to be a racially diverse set of chambers at all levels of seniority.
However we also recognise that Chambers and the commercial Bar more generally would benefit from greater diversity. To this end Fountain Court Chambers is participating in a number of initiatives specifically designed to help widen the pool of potential applicants and to encourage those from more diverse backgrounds to consider the commercial bar as a career. As set out above, this includes participating in the mini-pupillage programme developed by Bridging the Bar, and the commercial sets’ mentoring scheme, both of which provide specific mentoring and mini-pupillage opportunities to underrepresented groups.
Disability and Accessibility
At Fountain Court, we are committed to ensuring that talented applicants, and our members and staff, are able to succeed and we believe that disability should not be a barrier to that success.
We have taken steps to ensure that where possible our facilities are accessible and that our working practices accommodate disabled members. Our members include a number of individuals with disabilities, including wheelchair users who can work from chambers as a result of the adaptations and improvements we have been able to make to our grade II listed historic buildings.
Any specific requests for reasonable adjustments to assist disabled applicants, members, employees or clients which we may not reasonably be able to foresee, should be made to our Head of Administration, Julie Parker.
Social Mobility
We are conscious of long-held perceptions of the commercial Bar as being only for those from affluent or privileged backgrounds. We are striving to change those perceptions and to address any structural issues which may be discouraging individuals from less privileged backgrounds from considering the Bar as a career. We encourage talented individuals from any walk of life to apply for a mini-pupillage in order to experience first-hand what life at Fountain Court is like. The backgrounds of our members shows that there is no single route to the Bar, and a significant proportion of them were educated at state schools. We support and participate in a number of initiatives which seek to address social mobility issues, including:
- A targeted mentoring scheme with other leading commercial sets.
- Bridging the Bar.
- The Combar scholarship.
- The Pathways to Law scheme run by Oxford University, through which students who take part in that scheme are able to spend time with members of Fountain Court.
- Work experience programmes with a number of inner London schools, where participating students gain experience of clerking and, from time to time, shadow members of chambers at court.
In addition, individual members of chambers frequently deliver talks to state schools in less affluent areas, with a view to promoting a career at the Bar.
Giving back to the community
Fountain Court Chambers recognises a wider social responsibly, which it takes very seriously. Members and staff participate in a number of initiatives that reinforce chambers’ commitment to act in a socially responsible manner.
Access to the Bar
We participate in a number of initiatives that promote the furtherance of equality and diversity in the legal profession and which are designed to encourage diverse access to the Bar.
Pathways to Law
We have close links to the Pathways to Law scheme, which supports academically able students from non-privileged backgrounds who are interested in pursuing a career in law. The project offers placements to students to enable them to gain an insight into the life of chambers and the work of its barristers. It is part of a nationwide scheme developed by The Sutton Trust and The Legal Education Foundation.
Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups: A Scheme Run by Commercial Barristers’ Chambers
Fountain Court is also a founding member of the mentoring scheme established by the Commercial Bar to support and encourage individuals from groups which are underrepresented at the Bar of England and Wales (and in particular the commercial bar) to pursue careers as barristers. The scheme is called Mentoring for Underrepresented Groups: a scheme run by Commercial Barristers’ Chambers and is open to undergraduates and graduates from groups that are underrepresented at the Bar of England and Wales including women, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, LGBT+ people, people who have spent time in care and people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.
Bridging the Bar: Mini-Pupillage Programme
We are also seeking to enhance diversity at the commercial bar by supporting and participating in Bridging the Bar, an initiative through which candidates from underrepresented groups are able to apply for mini-pupillages in chambers.
Work experience
We also offer work experience placements to students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds in partnership with a school in Deptford, an initiative established with the support of the Stephen Lawrence Trust.
PRO BONO
We have a longstanding and proud commitment to pro bono work.
Advocate
Former member of Fountain Court Lord Goldsmith QC established the Bar Pro Bono Unit (now, Advocate), which enables access to justice through providing barristers’ services on a pro bono basis.
We continue to support Advocate’s work in various financial and non-financial means. Fountain Court is a Gold Patron of Advocate and many of our barristers also provide financial support to the charity on an individual basis. Fountain Court is also an enthusiastic participant in the London Legal Walk, a fundraising event arranged by Advocate on behalf of free legal advice agencies in London.
Our barristers also provide legal advice and assistance on a pro bono basis through Advocate. More senior members support its work as case reviewers, and Philip Brook Smith QC is a trustee of Advocate and a member of its management committee.
Other pro bono work
First year tenants provide free legal advice in the Bethnal Green Advice Centre on a weekly basis, as part of Fountain Court’s ongoing commitment to the centre.
Chambers also participates in Pro Bono Connect, a scheme that maintains a network of chambers and firms of solicitors willing to work together on pro bono cases. Through this scheme, Fountain Court barristers have been instructed by law firms on a pro bono basis to provide a joined-up approach to the provision of pro bono legal services.
Our barristers also participate in a number of the pro bono schemes operated within the RCJ, including:
· The Queen’s Bench Division Interim Applications Court Pro Bono Advocacy Scheme.
· The Chancery Litigants in Person Scheme.
· The Commercial Court and London Circuit Commercial Court Pro Bono Scheme.
Top Tier Set Rankings
- London Bar Administrative and public law (including elections)
- London Bar Aviation
- London Bar Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
- London Bar Commercial litigation
- London Bar Financial services regulation
- London Bar Fraud: civil
- London Bar Construction
- London Bar Energy
- London Bar IT and telecoms
Set Rankings
- London Bar Insurance and reinsurance
- London Bar International arbitration: arbitrators
- London Bar Insolvency
- London Bar Health and safety
- London Bar Professional disciplinary and regulatory law
- London Bar Professional negligence
- London Bar Travel law (including jurisdictional issues)
- London Bar Business and regulatory crime (including global investigations)
- London Bar Company and partnership
- London Bar International arbitration: counsel
- London Bar Proceeds of crime (POCA) and asset forfeiture
- London Bar Employment
- London Bar Competition
- London Bar Offshore
- London Bar Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police)
- London Bar Product liability